The packaging of delicate objects for shipment usually involves the use of bulky packaging materials, such as excelsior, shredded or wadded paper, or granulated plastic foams. These cause inconvenience in handling. In other cases, plastic foam is molded or cut to fit closely around the object. This is troublesome and expensive, particularly when various kinds of objects are to be shipped. It is used principally in connection with mass produced items. Moreover, it must often be supplemented by the use of loose packing of the type described above.
Various inflated containers are shown in the patented art. Among these are Butler, U.S. Pat. No. 1,457,496; Root et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,593; and Abbott, U.S. Pat. No. 3,138,248. To the best of my knowledge, none of these are in use today. Some appear to be fundamentally defective, others difficult and expensive to manufacture.
An object of my invention is to provide a package including a flexible, inflatable container which is cheap and effective and which is very compact when empty.
It is also an object of my invention to provide a method of packaging utilizing the container referred to above which will cause the article packaged to be firmly held in position.
It is also an object of my invention to provide a package including the container referred to above which is of such character that the article will be protected even if the container is punctured.